Slayers ENCORE: The Torch is Passed!
by Gigaworks
Summary: The Son of Lina Inverse is now Ten years old and ready to take on the world, WITHOUT the boring adults. With his best freind Val, he makes odd friends along the way and gets into all sorts of scrapes. WARNING: some spoilers
1. DEPART! Two Little Birds Leave the Nest

[check out the website at http://www.angelfire.com/va3/slayersforever/encore/encorestart.htm]  
  
  
There once was a famous sorceress named Lina Inverse....  
  
...But this story isn't about her.  
  
THE TORCH HAS BEEN PASSED AND NOW SHINES THE DAWN OF A NEW GENERATION, DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE, FUN... AND FOOD!   
  
SLAYERS ENCORE  
by the crazed individuals of Giga-Works*  
  
*We can take credit for none of the characters or elements presented below. All of them are copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi  
  
Chapter 1: DEPART!   
(two little birds leave the nest!)  
  
Sol: Little?  
  
Sol made his bed with a smile on his face. It was not normally a chore he enjoyed, but for some reason it held a special interest to him today maybe because he wouldn't be sleeping in it for the rest of the summer. Starting today, leaves would be his blanket and moss his pillow.   
  
Yes, Sol is actually anxious to be lying down on rocks and dirt.   
  
Why? Because he will be able to sleep anywhere he wants. He will get to do whatever he wants.  
  
He shoved a crude map, his money bag, and other essentials into his large leather pouch. And food. LOT's of food, all of which he'd stashed under his bed. At age 9, Sol had a teenage appetite. While shifting through his messy closet, he pulled out a finger-paint picture he'd made in kindergarten. He would have laughed if it hadn't been a picture of his entire family. He was drawn twenty feet tall with fiery red hair, with his mother and father on either side. He wasn't sure when he'd see all three of them together again. His mother was the orange stick figure to his left, and his dad the green smudge to his right. _Green? Why the heck was he painted green?_ he thought to himself. _His hair is -_  
  
"** SOL!!!!** cried mom from downstairs. ** Get your butt down here, or I'm eating all your pancakes!**"  
  
And she meant it.  
  
SURE, MOM.  
  
Standing in the kitchen as he came downstairs was Lina Inverse; not that it was a surprise to Sol, he'd seen his mother every day of his life. At first glance, one would hardly guess that she had been the fearsome Bandit Killer in her youth. She was now in her mid thirties, and there was still some of her irresponsible flightiness that her sobering age hadn't stifled.  
  
You all ready to go? she asked him after he speared the short stack with one swoop of his fork.  
  
He better be, replied a stern voice behind him.  
  
Sol spun around to see Val standing behind him. Though he was 12 and acted older still, the spearmint-green haired dragon Val was Sol's best friend in the world. And Oddly enough Sol was Val's best friend as well, even if Sol was occasionally greedy, foolish, and impatient.  
  
How long have you been here? asked Sol, maple syrup dripping onto his glove.  
  
Too long. If we want to stay on schedule, you better eat those pancakes...  
  
Sol's jaw almost unhinged and the poor hot cakes were forced down his monstrous gullet in milliseconds.  
  
Val looked to Sol's mom for help in reprimanding, but she just shrugged and slugged her son on the back, since he had stopped breathing.  
  
You're _sure_ you know the Heimlich Maneuver, right? she asked Val in earnest, who nodded. He had had years of experience as Lina well knew, but then, she was a little edgier than usual today. She wrapped up some remaining pancakes in a napkin and gave them to Val.   
  
Well, you two better head out already, said Lina with a forced smile. It's a long way to Aunt Luna's House. She suddenly thought of something.  
  
Val, where's your mother? I didn't see her, when you arrived.  
  
Val suddenly lost his collected composure, and his vocabulary.  
  
well, she was , busy and I  
  
"Val!"  
  
Val lost all courage as he jumped behind Sol. His Mother had come looking for himNormally he would have jumped behind Sol's _MOM_ but he knew in this case that both mothers would band together against him. Mothers were like that. The door was suddenly blown off the hinges by sheer force of anger.  
  
Why Filia, Hello. Said Lina, well aware that Filia couldn't hear her. Lina Was tired of losing doors.  
  
Filia il Copt, was in the doorway, breathing steam. While in some stories, this might have been an exaggeration, Filia was a Golden Dragon, and Val was lucky it was only steam.  
  
Now, Dragons age very slowly, and when last we saw Filia she was several hundred years old and looked in her early twenties. However, Filia had aged at least ten years in the last twelve with Val, and looked like your average mother of a fire-breathing, troublesome preteen. She had exchanged her flouncy pink dress to a more sensible gray one, with a high collar. Gray hid most of the stains she encountered in her daily life. Right now her mouth was screwed up in a vicious knot, much like her hair.   
  
Val watched his Mother with butterflies in his stomach. He wasn't terribly afraid of her, she had never struck him, or punished him at all in fact! Filia had a way, however of making Val feel really guilty. I mean penitently, horribly, miserably guilty! Val really didn't want that kind of mind trip. Especially not today, on this Day of Days! Today was HIS day!  
  
"Sol, help me out here!" he whispered pleadingly.   
  
"What, did you fly out here on your own again?" asked Sol.  
  
".....yes." Val said Lamely.   
  
Sol swallowed hard before replying:  
  
"I'm your best friend, so I'm not going to lie to you:  
You are dead where you stand, and you'll have to find loonier friends than me if you want back up against _your_ mom."  
  
"... At least it's been nice knowing you," he added, with a slight pat on Val's shoulder.   
  
Val's heart sank.  
  
"Gee, thanks a bunch, 'OLD PAL!' I'll remember that the next time you eat yourself into trouble again." he hissed at him.   
  
Filia in the meantime was busy shouting her complaints at Lina... and Lina was pretending to care. To Lina, raising a kid was like raising a monkey.... that talked back... To Filia it was like guarding a priceless glass figurine.   
  
  
Lina was getting a headache, so she interrupted Filia momentarily.  
  
"Sol, there's one more thing I need to give you... it's outside."  
  
Sol got the gist immediately and flew to the door after his mother. As he turned to close the door, he felt a pang of guilt as he saw Val looking to him for assistance. His eyes were pleading and full of fear. Sol felt horrible. This is when Val needed him the most. He should stand by his friend in his time of need.   
  
He then shrugged and slammed the door on Val who's jaw had dropped down to his chest in disbelief.  
  
Sol then ran out towards his Mom and covered his ears, while the roof leaped up a couple of feet.  
  
"YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO FLY ON YOU OWN WITH NO SUPERVISION! YOU COULDN'T WAIT FIFTEEN MINUTES?!! YOU WANT ME TO START TREATING YOU LIKE AN ADULT, YOU HAD BETTER ACT LIKE ONE AND FOLLOW THE RULES! I HAD NO IDEA WHERE YOU HAD GONE AND I WAS WORRIED OUT OF MY MIND! TRUST IS A BIG ISSUE, MISTER! I'M SUPPOSED TO TRUST YOU TO GO OUT ON YOUR OWN TO CEIPHEID-KNOWS-WHERE FOR MONTHS AND YOU GO AND RUN AWAY ON ME! I'M BEGINNING TO THINK YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO GO, LET ALONE LOOK AFTER LITTLE SOL! (Sol Frowned; little?) IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO? TO SAY YOU CAN'T GO AT ALL?"  
  
Sol was starting to get a little nervous. Not go? But they had to! This was their big chance! It had taken months to convince Val's mom to let him go! And he had to blow it by breaking the one rule she was immobile on... Way to go, Valsky. -_-;;  
  
"Mom? Is the trip canceled?"  
  
Lina shook her head.  
  
"We'll think of something." she said reassuringly with a wink and Sol grinned back at her.   
  
Filia finally emerged from the cottage with Val in tow. Val's face was red with tears but he held his head up like a dying gladiator as he was being dragged by his wrist. Filia came to a halt in front of Lina, so abruptly, that Val walked right into her rear.   
  
"Lina, Sol, I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid Val won't be going." Said Filia in her most severe voice. Her face showed plainly that she was very serious about this.   
  
Sol gave a little gasp and Val fought back another onslaught of sobs. Lina frowned a little and stared blankly, she was thinking.   
  
"I just need to talk about this with my son. Can you hold on for a moment?"  
  
"Of course." said Filia tersely. She shot Sol a small sympathetic smile; she was sorry for ruining his big day, but discipline came first. Sol gulped and looked away quickly. Having Filia smile at him was like fraternizing with the enemy!!  
  
Sol followed his mom behind a tree so they could talk privately. He could see the gears turning in her head and knew that everything would be all right. Sol was still young enough to believe that his Mom could fix anything.  
  
"Well?" she asked. "What do you want to do?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I could let you go by yourself."  
  
"By Myself?" Sol couldn't believe his ears.  
  
"Don't see why not. Well?"  
  
Sol looked back to Val. He was no longer the cool, confident, mature, condescending older kid with whom Sol liked to hang out. He was a twelve-year-old kid whose one chance at freedom had been squelched by his impatience, and his bailiff of a mother. He was also Sol's best friend.  
  
"Mom, I wanna go with Val." he said finally  
  
"Alright then." said his mom simply.  
  
They returned to Filia and Val. Val had thought that his mom had loosened her grip and tried to ease his wrist away. However, sensing his attempt, Filia only tightened her hand and jerked his arm little; a warning meaning, "Don't you try anymore funny stuff!" Val only sulked and wiped his nose on his vest. He looked up when Sol approached. When he saw the big grin on Sol's face, Val straightened up a little and lost his weepy attitude.   
  
"Filia, I really think you should let Val go. " said Lina plainly.  
  
Filia bristled a little and shot a dark look at Val who was grinning with new hope. The smile was wiped clean off his face.  
  
"Why? He has already proven to me that he's not responsible enough!"  
  
"Well first of all, its not fair to Sol. He's been really well-behaved these last couple of months and he deserves it."  
(This was a half truth. Sol was well behaved... for Sol)  
  
Filia looked a little guilty and glanced at Sol who was wearing his best puppy-dog face. His mother had taught him well. But Filia straightened up again.  
  
"I'm very sorry, but the trip will have to wait! Val simply cannot follow instructions, and Ceiphied knows what kind of trouble he'll get into! I won't have a moments peace!"  
  
"With all due respect Filia, this is about Val, not about you. We both talked about this, and we decided that this would be a good thing. We've marked out checkpoints for them to report to, and informed our friends. Each station is only three days apart and our friends will help them out."  
  
Filia was starting to weaken  
  
"Well... I don't know."  
  
"You can punish Val some other time. But not today. It's their big day! If it'll make you feel better, lets make them contact us at each checkpoint."  
  
"I promise, I'll call you!" said Val enthusiastically. Filia jerked his arm again. she didn't want to be disturbed while thinking.  
  
"well....."   
  
Sol quickly picked up the trend.  
  
And-and... we'll follow the route exactly! I promise we won't go wandering off!!  
  
  
And Val went in for the coup de grace.  
  
And- I PROMISE NOT TO FLY ON THE ENTIRE TRIP!!!! he blurted out, quite surprised with himself as he did.  
  
Filia swung in his direction and glared him straight in the eye.  
  
  
  
Not even for practice.  
  
You Swear????  
  
I swear on my honor as a dragon... I will not fly on this trip.  
  
Val's gaze was strong and steady, without blink, twitch, or wince.  
  
  
all right, said Filia, making sure that her posture didn't sag with her willpower.  
  
As strong as Filia Il Copt was, even she tended to fold under the most powerful force in the universe: Peer Pressure. (Don't miss out! Use peer pressure on your friends today! ^.^)  
  
  
"YES!!!!" both boys jumped up and high-fived each other!   
They were going!!  
  
Filia reached into her pocket and pulled out a large bag of coins. She plopped them in Val's hand.  
  
"You will CALL me at EVERY town you come to, understand? This money is for the TELEDICTER! Not to spend."  
  
The boys' eyes boggled at the huge pouch. They were already concocting brilliant schemes on how to get free access to teledicters. Lina saw this and swelled with pride.  
  
"Are you listening to me?" demanded Filia, still annoyed.  
  
"Yeah, Mom." Val was getting impatient. "Okay! Lets Go!" he cried, taking up his pack.  
  
"Wait!" this time it wasn't Filia, but Lina who stopped them. "I have something for you, Sol."  
  
Sol's eyebrows raised. "Something for ME?"  
  
Lina dashed inside the house and came out a moment later. with a black bundle in her arms.  
  
"What is it?" Cried Sol running to her.  
  
Lina shook out the bundle to reveal shoulder armor and a long black cape. The armor was scratched and had scorch marks on it, and the cape was faded and a little threadbare, but Sol's eyes lit up with excitement.  
  
"Your old cape and armor!?? I can have them??? Really?!?!"   
  
"Yup." Said Lina with an odd catch in her voice.  
  
"They're all yours, kiddo. My adventuring days are gone, so I'm giving them to you."  
  
Sol ran his hand over the gold trim with reverence.  
  
"Go on! Try it on!" said Lina, her eyes shining with excitement.  
  
Sol, didn't need to be asked twice. He thrust his head through the neck-hole and let the weight of the armor sit on his skinny shoulders. It was FAR too big for him. The Cape was at least a foot too long for him, and the armor stuck out a good twenty inches on both sides, but he was too happy to care.  
  
"Is it too heavy?" asked Lina anxiously.  
  
Sol shook his head. The armor was _hardly_ light as a feather, but not uncomfortable. It was a friendly weight that made him feel secure, protected... invincible!  
  
"HEY VAL LOOK AT ME!!!! I AM SOL, THE SORCERER!"  
  
The boys laughed and then ran around the front yard throwing harmless lighting spells at each other, pretending they were deadly balls of fire. Then Sol tried to back up, and stepped on his cape, yanking him to the ground.   
  
Lina picked him up and dusted him off, smiling.  
  
"You'll grow into it. Just try to concentrate on walking forward, okay?"  
  
"I'll try, Mom."  
  
Sol beamed at his mom, but then his smile faded. Lina was staring at him with a strange expression and watery eyes.  
  
"Mom? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about how big you've gotten."  
  
"Aw, Mom!" Sol groaned. Why did adults always get so sentimental about this stuff.  
  
"Hey Mom!"  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"D'ya think Dad will get to see me like this?"  
  
"I don't know... I guess you'll find out." said Lina Quietly.  
  
Lina helped Sol get his pack on, under the cape, and rumpled his hair affectionately.   
  
"See ya, kiddo. Good luck. Say hi to your Aunt Luna for me."  
  
"You bet! C'mon, Val!"  
  
Val was in the middle of an embarrassing goodbye with Filia, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and kept repeating,  
  
"MY BABY IS LEAVING ME!!!"  
  
After Sol and Lina managed to pry Val away from her, the two boys marched triumphantly down the hill to the main road. The sun was now climbing above the treetops and the heady scent of Summer was in the air. They turned to wave one last goodbye, and then disappeared into the forest.  
  
Lina and Filia sighed with heavy hearts. They were both going to return to a house with no children.  
  
"............"  
  
"..........."  
  
"You want to stay for some tea?" asked Lina  
  
"I thought you'd never ask." replied Filia.  
  
The two walked up to Lina's cottage in silence.  
  
"Do you really think they'll be okay out there, Lina."  
  
"Filia, these are OUR BOYS."  
  
"Yah, I know.... that's what I'm worried about!"   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
said Sol as the two strolled down the country road, glancing up at the sky. Notice how everything just seems more open then before? More... free?  
  
was the only response Sol received.  
  
I mean, you never notice so many things before. The clouds, the sun, the birds.  
  
Val was in rare form today.  
  
Sol began staring very intensely at the cheerful songbirds as they playfully hopped from branch to branch.  
  
I wonder if you can eat said Sol.  
  
Val clapped a hand to his face in frustration and whirled on his companion.  
  
Not EVERYTHING in this world is EDIBLE, Sol  
  
he replied unperturbed, I'll find out. A man needs Goals, y'know.  
  
Val rolled his eyes and sighed, exasperated.   
  
MY goal is to get you to shut-up for more than two minutes. Said Val irritably.  
  
Not gonna happen. Sol replied bluntly.  
  
Yah, figured.  
  
Sorry, but I'm just so Excited!!! cried Sol leaping a few feet in the air.  
  
Well cut it out. Val hd lost a good deal of his coolness after the incident with his mother. He was trying to become again. That meant criticizing everything Sol did. Sol hated that.  
  
Why shouldn't I be excited? We've broken loose! No more parents for the whole journey! It's just you, me, and .. XELLOS??  
  
the Purple-haired priest replied nasally. Out of the blue, he was walking alongside the two.  
  
So today's the big day, I see! Boy, kids grow up so fast these days! he said with a friendly smile. Val's hair started to bristle. Sol just fought back a bored yawn.  
  
Said Sol, casually, as Val shot him an angry look. We're off to see the world just me and Val!  
  
Val and I, Val corrected him automatically.   
  
Sol yawned. So what are you up to today? he asked Xellos  
  
Well now THAT-  
  
IS A SECRET, chimed the two boys in perfect unison.  
  
Xellos was a little flustered.   
Have I really become that predictable? he asked with a disappointed laugh. The boys nodded. Val was still glancing warily at Xellos. Xellos noticed this and smiled in spite of himself.  
  
So Val, how are you? asked Xellos, pushing more buttons.  
  
Val said tersely.  
  
And your Mother?  
  
Val shouted through his clenched jaw. Filia had thoroughly warned Val about the dangerous Mazoku Priest, Xellos. She advised him to just;  
  
_answer him with one-syllable words until he goes away. And don't lose your temper. That's all that he's trying to do. The HONOR OF THE DRAGON RACE LIES WITH YOU!!!.no pressure.'  
_  
Val pointed his nose in the air and tried to ignore Xellos.  
  
Heh-heh. Just like her, muttered Xellos, amused, and he turned his attentions to Sol, who was unaware of any animosity.  
  
And how's your mother, Sol?  
  
She's just fine. Sol replied grinning. She's by herself now.  
  
By herself?   
  
...  
  
Sol wondered why Xellos seemed so interested in that.   
  
And she doesn't mind you talking to me? Xellos tossed this out casually, but he had a funny grin on his face.  
  
Mom says she doesn't care to see you, and that you're a bad influence on me but I guess not. I don't see why everyone acts so funny around you. I don't think you're so bad. Sol wasn't even looking at Xellos, he was talking to the sky, it seemed.   
  
said Xellos. There's a lot of things you don't know about me. I'm more dangerous than you think. Xellos was still wearing that funny grin of his. It gave Val the creeps.  
  
I doubt it. You look like such a wuss, said Sol flatly.  
  
At this, Xellos fell over and Val burst out laughing shamelessly, while Sol stared down at this strange adult unaware of what was so funny.  
  
Just for THAT , said Xellos as he rose huffily. you don't get your Going-away present!   
  
Sol's eyes shot open in realization. He jumped onto Xellos's ankle with crocodile tears pouring down his cheeks  
  
AW C'MON! BE A SPORT! GIMME MY PRESENT! PUH-LEEEEEEEEEEEEZE!  
  
said Xellos, still affronted.  
  
YOU'RE MEAN!!! Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please  
  
Val was embarrassed for the both of them. It was bad enough to have Xellos pestering them but it was worse to have Sol lower himself to this level to get something from him!  
  
Sol! Where's your pride!!!!????  
  
**I don't have any when it comes to presents!** cried Sol and then continued with his please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please  
  
Xellos was eventually worn down, but he was smiling which made Sol think he was going to give in anyway. Sol would get even with Xellos for that... after he got his present.  
  
said Xellos kindly as he held out a maplewood staff that was smooth, sanded and nicely polished. At the top was a carved ornament that represented a dragon head belching fire. The staff was a good three inches thick (at the top) and six feet in length. Sol didn't try to hide his disappointment.  
  
A stick?  
  
Its not just a **_stick_**! cried Xellos, insulted. It's a staff! It will slightly amplify your spells, and help you repel magical attackslittle ones.  
  
Sol stared at the staff in awe, but then frowned.   
  
So it's a magic stick. Whoop-dee-doo, said Sol, not amused.  
  
I'm serious! Xellos couldn't believe the ungratefulness of this kid!  
  
Sol took the stick and tried to picture himself with his giant armor and the giant stick just like another guy who carried a stick.  
  
now I look just as lame as you. He muttered, sweat-dropping.  
  
Xellos had HAD it! You don't like it, I'M TAKIN' IT BACK!   
  
Sol clung to the stick like it was made of gold. It may be a stick, but it was **his** stick now!  
  
NO! I LIKE IT! I LIKE IT! he cried, seeing Xellos reach out his arm.   
  
Heheheheh. I would expect as much from Lina's son, said Xellos. He then turned to Val.  
  
I have something for you, too.  
  
I don't want it, said Val with his back turned.   
  
Xellos just shrugged. Perhaps, maybe another day, he said quietly and disappeared. Val turned around on where Xellos had stood, now openly angry.  
  
FAT CHANCE! I DON'T WANT ANYTHING FORM YOU! YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME! Y'HEAR!!!!???  
  
There was only the chirping of birds and the humming of insects. Unexpectedly, Val rounded on Sol.  
  
And YOU! Why did you take it!? he demanded hotly.  
  
Well, I just don't say no to free stuff, Sol said very matter-of-factly.  
  
This seemed to anger Val even more. Well, maybe Xellos can buy YOU with presents, but I'M not gonna fall for it.  
  
You're just jealous cause you don't have a stick, replied Sol, sticking out his tongue.  
  
Val resisted the urge to punch his friend's face in. Sol now realized that his friend was very upset about something, and looked at him with concern. Val finally softened, and let his fists fall limp at his sides.   
  
we haven't been walking for an hour, and already we run into trouble, sighed Val.  
  
Uh, Val?one trouble, plus five troubles, plus one more troublethat's seven troubles  
  
Huh? What are you babbling about, Sol?  
  
Sol only pointed. Following his finger, Val saw straight ahead of them five large TROLLS and a girl with an eye-patch, perched a top one of their shoulders.  
  
  
The fifteen-year-old girl sighed and rubbed her forehead wearily. Of all the creatures in the world, trolls? And five of them too. Everyone knew that trolls were stupid. And their stupidity was multiplied by their numbers. Thus, five trolls were more stupid than one troll. Wait Did that make sense? Shaking her pretty head, the girl was just about to blast them away with several fireballs but changed her mind when she saw two boys approaching.  
  
_Hmm an audience,_ she thought. _Another chance to show of my prowess not that I really need to do that, since almost everyone in the wilderness knows and fears my name. But then, those two look like ignorant village bumpkins and probably haven't heard of me yet. And they probably won't appreciate my subtle art of fighting anyway. Maybe I'll start with a little speech about ridding the world of evils before going on to the real action. Nah, that may bore them. They don't look very intelligent. Oooh, but the green-haired one looks kinda cute! Actually, they're both cute. Perhaps I'll do the speech thing after all Ah! But what if they become too fascinated by me and decide to follow me wherever I go? That won't be very convenient, but I guess there's no other choice. On the other hand—_  
  
Meanwhile, the five trolls had gotten tired of waiting for her to make up her mind and decided to attack at this point. The girl only had a chance to yell, Fear the wrath of Midnight Thorn! very quickly before she was caught up in the thick of the battle...  
  
What'd she say? asked Val, baffled. 'Shear the cat of moonlight horn?' That makes no sense.  
  
Sol shook his head. Nah she said somethin like... 'Dinner's ready, lets have corn!' I think that was it.   
  
Sol you think _everything_ is food.  
  
... Not that it was much of a battle. It was more like a very short skirmish. When the last troll was beaten to an insensate state, Midnight Thorn dusted off her small hands, sticking out her tongue cutely at the fallen trolls. The boys were still debating what she had yelled.  
  
Well, so much for that, she said, fingering the bag of gold that had cost her all this trouble. She calculated that the amount of gold the bag contained would last her at least two whole weeks. Not bad for a day's work, don't you think?  
  
Whirling around to face the two sufficiently awestruck (or so she thought) boys, she gazed at them quizzically, waiting for one of them to speak.   
  
The boys stared back.  
  
said the redhead. ....uh... Is this the right road to Glistle Village?   
  
The green-haired kid smacked the redhead kid upside the head.  
  
"What'd you ask that for, you moron!! This IS the right road!!! I already told you fifty billion times, Numbknob! You're gonna ask a total stranger instead of listening to ME!!!??? Geez you're thick, Sol! I oughtta...."  
  
Val trailed off, noticing that the Girl was staring at him funny, causing him to blush redder than Sol's hair. Midnight Thorn couldn't help but giggle. He WAS cute. Val yanked Sol aside, speaking in a low whisper.  
  
"Hey, Dummy, I think this girl is gonna try and rob us next... she's staring at us... prob'ly calculating our strengths."   
  
  
"By 'strengths', do you mean mine or yours? I mean, I can hurl fireballs and arrows, but all you can do is move heavy things."  
  
Sol turned and looked at the girl. He was far too young to be interested in girls, but not young enough to lose his boyish fascination.  
  
"Do you really think she'd rob us??"   
  
  
"Do you weelwy think she'd wob us??" repeated Val in a high whiney voice. "You are so naive. If she took the trouble to knock over five TROLLS for money, she certainly not gonna pass over a young man and a dopey little kid."  
  
....  
  
"Oh, and your 'fireballs' couldn't light a CANDLE. I say we find some way to lose her."  
  
  
A vein bulged in Midnight Thorn's forehead. She was not appreciating their discussion of her.  
  
She coughed rather deliberately. "Look here, _boys_, I have no intention of robbing you." She paused, then added in an undertone, "Since you both don't look like you have much money anyway."  
  
YES WE D-mphhht!!!   
  
Val had clapped a hand over Sol's mouth. Thorn raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Ahem. Anyway, since the both of you are heading to Glistle Village, which was where I had originally intended to go, I shall accompany you. What do you think?"  
  
The fifteen year old smiled in her friendliest manner at them. "And don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you or anything like that," she said, rolling her eyes at their shocked expressions. "I just think that the two of you need some protection, since there are really bad bandits in the woods. I mean, two young boys, traveling all by yourselves to some far village. What were your mothers thinking?"   
  
  
"BOY!??" Val screamed indignantly. "I am almost TWELVE... years old!!! I'm practically a MAN! My voice is getting way lower! EVEN AS WE SPEAK," he squeaked. His hair was bristling and the sinews in his skinny arms were bulging.  
  
"Show her your ONE chest hair, that'll really WOW her," said Sol, not helping.  
  
"Bishonen don't GET chest hair!!" squawked Val, getting irate.   
  
"So you're still standing by that excuse?" said Sol grinning.  
  
"And my mom says I'm very mature for my age," continued Val.   
  
"Ooh..._there's_ a good reference. You should put that on your resume."  
  
Val smacked Sol good. He then spoke to him again in audible whispers.  
  
"Sol, I don't think we should get mixed up with this girl."  
  
"Oh yah, at least not till the next chapter," chirped Sol.  
  
"....." Val just looked at him funny.  
  
"Anyway," Val went on. "We need to ditch her and fast. I don't think your Aunt Luna would like another houseguest."  
  
"Best not to push it. What do you suggest?"  
  
"Escape plan 7?"  
  
Sol, fell over and groaned.  
  
"Nooooo-ho-ho-hooooo.... Not SEVEN!!!"  
_  
What's plan seven?'_ thought Midnight Thorn.  
  
"Its never failed," protested Val.  
  
"That depends on your point of view," quipped Sol.  
  
"Its never failed **me**."  
  
"That's what I meant."  
  
"Shut-up. We're doing it." Val got ready, as he locked his fingers together.   
  
"Errunnnngh..." Sol reluctantly shuffled to where Val stood and put his foot in Val's hands.   
  
"Hup!...Un! Due! Tre!" shouted Val as he launched Sol with incredible accuracy fifty feet into the air. However, Sol flailed gracelessly as he arched high over Midnight Thorn's head, and continued into the distant foliage. From his dizzying height, those on the ground could hear Sol screaming..  
  
"RAYWING!....c'mon, dangit!.....raywiiiiiiiiing!"   
  
Val used this diversion to his advantage and.....  
  
  
  
  
ran.  
  
  
  
  
Zooming faster than a speeding fireball, he ducked past Midnight Thorn and didn't stop until he was twenty leagues away... just in time to witness Sol's landing.  
  
  
"-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!" *SPLAT*  
  
"You okay, Buddy?" asked Val, poking him with a stick.  
  
"Jolly Good, Duchess Fwiply. I shall alert my servants to the threat of a military inssssurrection. I trust you will watch the cookies, in the oven. I don't wwant them to burrrrrrn....."  
  
"Okay, whatever." Shrugged Val as he peeled his friend off the ground, and resumed running.  
  
"The sooner we get to town the better."   
  
  
Xellos watched the two as Val made tracks on the winding dirt road, with Sol trailing behind him like a kite. He chuckled. This job was going to be a laugh fest! He then disappeared.  
  
Midnight Thorn frowned and folded her arms in a huff at their departure.   
  
"Hmph! Well then, have it your way! I'll just be on my own way and not care about you two idiots any further."  
  
She took one step in the opposite direction, then another. Then she stopped and tugged at her short hair. "Mou! Those two _idiots_!!"  
  
With that, she ran after them as fast as she could, taking care to keep out of sight.   
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
**NEXT TIME:**  
  
"Who's that funny-lookin' kid with the big nose? I dunno, but if she's with Xellos it can't be good! I wonder if I'll get to Aunt Luna's in one piece. I wonder if I'll get OUT in one Piece!!   
Find out in: **  
ENGAGE! (She's One Bad Sister!)**  
  
You better watch or my mom'll really cause some trouble!!"  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
GIGAWORKS IS:  
  


JIA RE MENG: 
Encore Editor, 'Voice' of Val, Sol, Lina, Xellos and Filia 

PAPER TIGER: 
'Voice' of Sol {Fanfiction.net Author PaperTiger ID139657} 

MOONHAWK: 
'Voice' of Filia, Midnight Thorn {Fanfiction.net Author Moonhawk ID13555} 

CAIT SITH: 
'Voice' of Xellos 
  
  



	2. ENGAGE! She's One Bad Sister!

Slayers Encore: Ch2 Engage Check out the website at: http://www.angelfire.com/va3/slayersforever/encore/encorestart.htm 

**Gigaworks presents**

**SLAYERS ENCORE**

Slayers and all related characters and elements are copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi and are used without permission, Klonnoa is copyright of NAMCO and is used without permission, while all other characters are copyright of Mary, Queen of Scots and are **also** used without permission. But if she doesn't like it, she can rise from her cold, cold grave and say something. Till then, they're ours.

Chapter 2:** Engage! **(She's One Bad Sister!)

Mr. Fawlty stared down his nose at the two boys in front of him. He had been having a grueling day running his _respectable _hotel. First, a noted critic of the hotel industry had shown up (Mr. Fawlty glared at the trim young man to his left). The Food staff had gone off to a lovely start by giving their esteemed guest a giant melting puddle of ice cream, instead of a roast duck. Then the waiter set fire to the tablecloth and spilt wine on the critic's monogramed handkerchief. Then the large sum of money that was deposited by the critic in the hotel's safe had gone inexplicably missing, and finally, Mr. Fawlty had just spotted a rat scurrying into the Pantry. What a day!  
  
And NOW he had two little boys standing in front of his desk in the lobby. Mr. Fawlty hated children...especially STARING children.  
  
"May I_ HELP _you?" he snapped, irritably.  
  
"I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." said the taller of the two boys with bright green hair...which made Mr. Fawlty think he was a Punk.  
  
"**_Piss off,_**" he growled and slammed shut the guest registry book, as though afraid that they might vandalize it.  
  
The hotel critic next to him cleared his thought audibly.  
  
"Mr. Wheaton?" inquired Mr. Fawlty.  
  
'_'What now, you rubbish-raking twit?'_ is what he really wanted to ask.  
  
"Mr. Fawlty," he began politely. "What many hotel inquirers would like to see these days is a hotel that respects and treats children like the important individuals that they are."   
  
Mr. Fawlty broke into a wide grin.  
  
"Of course! Only Joking!" he said through a large toothy grin, that was threatening to crack his face in two.   
"Now, my Lads," he said to the two boys, who hadn't moved.  
"What would you like me to answer?"  
  
"I was just wondering what your nightly rates were," said the green-haired boy, sounding very mature.  
  
"Twenty silver for the nights stay until noon the next day. We have a special on now; book four days get the fifth free."  
  
"Breakfast?"  
  
"Served in the dining room from 7:00 to 10:30 am. A continental breakfast is included with the nights stay." Mr. Fawlty was trying very hard to pretend that he cared.  
  
"Dinner?"  
  
"Costs extra." Fawlty's grin was starting to fade.  
  
"Cleaning service?"  
  
"**_WHY THE BLOODY HELL WOULD YOU CARE ABOUT OUR CLEANING SERVICE!!??_**" blurted Mr. Fawlty.   
  
"cleaning service?" asked the boy again, sternly.  
  
The critic released another "_Ahem_."  
  
"We take your items to the local cleaners, you will receive it again at 5:00 pm the next day." A vein was starting to protrude from Fawlty's head.   
  
"Anything else, my good lad?" he asked through clenched, smiling teeth.  
  
"I would like to see a menu for dinner."  
  
Mr. Fawlty almost exploded again, but the critic next to him gave yet another cough, and this time he kept his temper in check.   
  
"Certainly!" he cried through a refreshed toothy grin, his mustache twitching.  
  
He left to get the menu, leaving the critic who smiled warmly at the two boys.  
  
Sol leaned over to Val.  
  
"_Now?_" he whispered.  
"_No, not yet._" replied Val cooly.  
  
A four foot tall, black and white cat-rabbit...thing entered the hotel and rang the bell several times. She looked seriously peeved. After a minute of waiting she shouted, not even noticing Val and Sol, "HEY! Can I get some service here?! Geez! This is SO going on the comment slip!"   
  
The two boys couldn't help but stare at this angry...thing...whose head didn't even come over the front desk. Val's mother would've been horrified at her son's behavior.  
  
Then, Xellos walked in and leaned against the wall, earning himself a glare from the cat-rabbit. "Klonnoa-chan. You really need to lighten up! I was just saying that you **_looked_** like you escaped from a circus!"  
  
Sol mentally agreed with him, but Val was to busy seething in repulsion from a certain Mazoku he had never cared to see again.  
  
Klonnoa growled, tackled Xellos, and put him in a headlock that Sol's mother would've been scared of and shouted, "Namagomi! I did NOT escape from the circus and if you're not careful, I'll kick you so hard that your kids'll be bruised!!"  
  
Sol and Val both winced.  
  
Xellos gasped and managed to pry himself out of Klonnoa's 'death-grip' and snapped back, "Don't push it, kitty."  
  
"DON'T CALL ME KITTY! YOU NAMAGOMI!!" 

Xellos's eyes twitched, but then he noticed Val and Sol.  
  
"Hi! Val! Sol! How's everything going?!" He asked cheerfully. Klonnoa joined him and looked the two over. The green haired guy was kind of kawaii. She gave Val a winning smile that made him take a few steps back.   
  
Sol sighed. What **_WAS_** it about Val??  
  
"This is Klonnoa-chan!" said the nasal priest. "She's traveling with me for the time being!"  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked Val darkly.   
  
"What does it look like? I'm here to see about a room." Xellos reached out a hand to rumple his hair, but Val knocked it away. He was half tempted to bite it. Xellos only shrugged.   
  
Klonnoa snorted and tripped Xellos. "Don't mind the purple-haired fruitcake. If ya do it right, He'll be beggin' for mercy!"  
  
Xellos laughed, his voice muffled by the floor which he was currently commenting on the weather to. Klonnoa tapped her foot. "You're supposed to stand up, then laugh."  
  
"Oi! You certainly like to stretch the truth!" he giggled, standing and dusting himself off and grabbing Klonnoa's yellow cap off her head, allowing her long spiked bangs to fall over one gold catlike eye. Klonnoa ground her teeth, her eyes flashing.  
  
"You're crusin' for a bruisin', you **_do_** know that don't you?" she hissed, snatching her hat back, putting it on backwards and walking over to Val and Sol. She cocked a thumb at Xellos and asked, "Annoying', ain't he? He is SO lucky I can't cast Dragon Slave." Sol just sweat-dropped.  
  
"You can't even cast Fireball." Xellos commented.  
  
SPLASH! A ball of ice cold water came in contact with Xelloss' face and Klonnoa burst into a fit of laughter. 

"Nailed ya! Itai!" Xelloss' staff then connected with HER head. Klonnoa glared daggers at the Trickster Priest, her gloved hands clutched in tight fists. She looked like she wanted to knock him out while Xellos simply enjoyed the meal of anger and annoyance she was providing him with.   
  
Sol smiled at this pair. They seemed straight out of Vaudeville.  
  
Val only sighed. "Yep, Xel can be pretty be pretty darn annoying most of the time."  
  
Sol stuck his hand out to shake this new friend.  
  
"Hi. My name's Sol-"  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Val saw Mr. Fawlty coming back.  
  
"_NOW_!" Hissed Val.  
Sol dropped the hand and fell limp to the floor and contorted himself on the floor, screaming jargon and throwing his limps wildly.  
  
Pausing only to wink at Klonnoa.   
  
Xellos only grinned at them amused.   
"_Boy, _**_Lina_**_ could never have thought of _**_this_**_!" _he thought._  
_  
"go away!!!" Val hissed at Xellos, under his breath. "You'll ruin everything!!!"  
  
Xellos only retreated to a comfy chair in a corner, dragging Klonnoa with him. This looked like good entertainment!  
  
Val's eyes suddenly opened wide as if he just noticed his friend lying on the floor! He shrieked as only a young boy could.  
  
Mr. Fawlty jumped in alarm as he saw Sol on the ground **convulsing **and foaming at the mouth!! (those antacid tablets did the trick!)  
  
"OMIGAWRN!!" cried Val. "He's having the fits again!!"  
  
Fawlty stood glued to the floor, in a panic.  
  
"Oh BlOodY HeCk! What do we do!!??" cried the distressed Mr. Fawlty.  
  
"QUICK!" shouted Val with authority. "You get something to put in his mouth so he won't bite off his tongue!! I'll call a doctor!! Where's your Teledicter!??"  
  
Mr. Fawlty pointed to his office behind the lobby's desk. Val nimbly jumped over it, while Mr. Wheaton went to fetch some water. The manager's office was tiny and cramped, but somewhere in the midst of it...aha!   
  
Val stepped into the tight closet and placed the blue crystal in the oamulator. He then punched the four red phreems to connect to his' neighborhood's Teledictory code.   
  
"Filia ul Copt, nine-seven, Green Heights!" he said clearly.  
  
There was the familiar blue light encompassing him and there in a small square, about the size of a cookie tin, was his mother's face.  
  
"Hi, Mom."  
  
"Val! My Baby!" cried Filia. "I've been worried sick about you!"  
  
"Mo-o-o-om. I've only been gone 3 days!" whined Val sweatdropping.  
  
"And you said you'd call EVERYday!" said Filia accusingly.  
  
"Mom, you know that not every town has a teledicter! They ARE rather new!" said Val trying to sound reasonable.  
  
"Hah! Poor excuse for not calling your mother. YOU boys are all alike! You get your chance to go out into the world, and you could care less what happens to your poor mother...."  
  
Filia went on like this for four whole minutes, and Val was looking anxiously out into the main lobby. He was afraid that the manager or critic would come back here any minute and demand to know what was going on. OR WORSE!...that Xellos would spoil it all.  
  
"...some day when I'm dead you'll wish you had spent more time with-"  
  
"Mom! I-uh-gotta go! Uh-Sol's on fire-Yah! Better put him out! G'bye!" Cried Val desperately with Filia interrupting at every word.  
  
Before Filia could object, Val yanked out the crystal and put it back on its cradle. He heaved a sigh of mingled relief and exasperation. He then ran back out to the lobby, where the two gentlemen were huddled over Sol, who was still shaking like a maraca, although with far less energy then when he had started.  
  
"I couldn't reach a doctor that was nearby!" cried Val, forlornly, as he started to weep. He was a very good actor.   
"I don't know what to do!!"  
  
Just then "miraculously," Sol stopped shaking, and slowly opened his eyes. Val gasped, tears streaming down his face.  
  
"Little Brother!! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!! OH THANK THE HEAVENS!!"  
  
Val sank to the floor on his knees, he then cradled his 'brother' in his arms and cried happy tears!!  
  
All of this was terribly convincing, and Mr. Fawlty and Mr. Wheaton were incredibly relieved that Sol had recovered. And this touching scene between the two boys was enough to warm the heart of even Mr. Fawlty!  
  
"Little Brother, Say something to me!!"   
  
"Man," Sol replied, spitting, "Those antacid pills may _look_ convincing, but they taste like-"  
  
Sol looked up to kindly critic (now turning red) and to Mr. Fawlty, whose mustache seemed about to catch on fire.  
  
"Have I said too much?" asked Sol, innocently.  
  
Val felt like he had swallowed a cast-iron boot-scraper and a cold sweat spread over his body.  
  
He stared in horror at Sol who was chewing on his tunic to get the taste out. He then glanced at the advancing staff.   
  
Xellos and the furry...thing who were just watching, amused.   
  
"BAKA!!!!" shrieked Val. He yanked Sol to his feet and flew out of the hotel, with Sol "flying" behind him. Val was still continuing his scolding.  
  
"IDIOT! MORON! LUNKHEAD! JELLYFISH BRAIN!!"   
  
Val screeched to a halt for a moment.   
  
Where had he heard that before?   
  
He shrugged and kept running.  
  
"For once can't you ever play your part all the way through?? Was it too much to try and act weak for a few more minutes?? We might've even got a FREE MEAL from that!! I can't believe THAT wasn't motivation enough for you! Now we'll have to find somewhere else!! AND ITS **ALL YOUR FAULT!!**"   
  
Val wasn't particularly mad at Sol. He HAD gotten that free dicter-call, after all. And he was used to the half-brained redhead screwing up his _perfect _plans. He knew his words were wasted on Sol...but it was nice to be able to vent.   
  
Sol figured Val got that from his mother.  
  
Xellos was still clapping his hands in the Hotel's Lobby.  
  
"BRAVO! BRAVO!...What acting! What skill!" Xellos said, his smile widening.  
  
Klonnoa nodded. "For once, we agree on something." She then decided to follow the "odd couple" and then bolted out the door, Xellos following at her heels.  
  
They finally caught up with Val and Sol, who were panting in a bush beside the road. Mr. Fawlty and Mr. Wheaton both went past them as good angry mobs should, no matter their size. Val groaned. He would have preferred to have _Mr. Fawlty_ find him, rather than Xellos!!  
  
Klonnoa slapped Val on the back ferociously, knocking the wind out of him. "Val, you're a pretty good actor, but Sol...you gotta learn not to open your mouth and complain."  
  
Xellos nodded and clapped. "I must agree with Klonnoa-chan on this one. Val-san got his acting skills from Filia-san, wouldn't you say?"  
  
_"Don't talk about my mother."_ warned Val, his temper rising.   


* * *

Midnight Thorn had witnessed the previous events, with relish. Having finally caught up to the group, now increased by two weirdoes, she frowned thoughtfully. That purple haired man looked a bit familiar. She seemed to have seen him somewhere before, but wasn't sure when. The furry creature was... um... she didn't know how to describe it.  
  
Anyway, it looked like the two boys could take care of themselves. Perhaps she should leave them now. However, she couldn't seem to make up her mind about it, so she decided to hold a conference inside her head.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~  
MT1: Yeah, you should leave them and find more bandits to fight. Having more money means that you can buy more things!!  
MT2: But they're just little boys! They could get hurt or something...  
MT3: (singing) Koi Ni Koi Suru! Ono no Konni Wa!... oops, are we having a discussion? Sorry. I'll shut up now.  
MT4: ... No comment...  
MT5: This is ridiculous. Just follow them and be done with it.  
MT1: I disagree! I still think we should find more bandits!  
MT2: Oh come on! Do you think money is more important than the lives of two innocent boys?  
MT5: I think you're overdoing it, MT2. I don't think they're _that_ innocent. Besides, they have those two... erm... people with them.  
MT4: ............ yeah.  
MT2: But didn't you see why they went through all that act in the hotel? The green-haired one needed to call his mom!  
MT5: Maybe you're right... Ok, let's follow them.  
MT1: Man, this stinks. I'm warning you, I'll sulk.  
MT3: Is the discussion over yet? Can I continue singing now?  
MT4: ............ yeah. We're gonna follow them.  
MT2: Yatta!!  
~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Having finally decided, Midnight Thorn continued following the group.   


* * *

  
"My Aunt Luna's house..." said Sol, dashing out of the bushes merrily, "...is about four blocks due north."  
  
Sol wasn't sure of the exact dates, but he more or less knew the story of his aunt. She'd moved to Glistle (a curious burg) before Sol was born, and purchased an Inn/Tavern. She had two daughters, aged 14 and....the other one was...(shudder)....  
  
Sol did whatever possible to keep **her** out of his head.  
  
He looked up at Klonnoa.  
  
"I think you'll like my aunt. I know Val does."   
  
Val's hair was standing on end as Xellos and ...friend followed them ...like they had been invited along or something! Sol seemed to be getting along with them peachy-keen, but they were grating heavily on Val's nerves. Val finally couldn't stand it any longer. He let his anger rip loose like a hurricane, forgetting that Xellos only enjoyed that sort of shameless outburst.  
  
"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING US, XELLOS?? I DON'T NEED YOUR KIND OF HELP!! WE DON'T NEED ANY **_ADULTS_** AROUND AND WE DON'T NEED YOU!!   
  
YOU AND YOUR PET CAN JUST GO HOME!! STAY OUT OF MY WAY AND OUT OF MY FACE!!!"  
  
Val then saw Midnight Thorn on their tail as well.  
  
"AND WHO THE HECK INVITED **_YOU_**?? STOP FOLLOWING US!!"  
  
"_Well!_" Midnight Thorn gasped in disgust and marched off in a huff.  
  
Val considered frying the three intruders with a flame breath...but decided against it. He was having trouble with those anyway. Instead he turned to his companion.   
  
"C'mon Sol, we're leaving."   
  
Val paused...something was wrong. Sol was not moving.  
  
"Sol? Did you hear me?? I said LETS GO!"   
  
Sol only looked at Val with big baby-deer eyes, pleading.  
"Pleeeaaaaase? I like em!"  
  
Val was unmoved.  
"No....Don't look at me like that!...I said No! NO!...aw, fer cryin'...Stop that! No! No means No means No!...WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT!!???.....are you gonna CRY?.. well go ahead!...see if I care!........okay, I'm sorry...but they still can't........."  
  
The end result of Sol's little performance was the five of them Standing in the Town Square of Glistle Village.   
  
"To bad you weren't this good an actor back at that Hotel." he said acidly.  
  
Klonnoa sat on the large equestrian Statue in the square. "I sure hope Sol here is right about me liking this Luna person."  
  
"She is quite nice. Anyways, I believe you dropped this, Klonnoa-chan." Xellos handed his friend a large gold ring with an emerald on top of it. It was about the size of a wide horse-shoe, if not bigger, and a magical aura surrounded it.  
  
"Thanks. I was wondering what happened to it." Klonnoa then looked at Sol and Val and asked, "When are we gonna go in? 'Cause I'm a little hungry."  
  
"Ha! A little? You eat more then Sol, Val and Lina put together!" Xellos laughed. Klonnoa she grabbed Xellos's staff and introduced it to his skull.  
  
Xellos glared. "You like doing this to me, I swear."  
  
"Your right. I cherish every moment of it." Xellos sighed, rather exasperated, and Klonnoa was grinning like an idiot.   
  
Sol forced a smile and sweat dropped.  
  
"On second thought," he said, swallowing hard, "I think it's best if you don't come uninvited. Aunt Luna's not too fond of ... surprises."  
  
Sol's mind flickered back two years to Luna's surprise party. The healers were busy for weeks.  
  
"Why don't we meet back up with you tomorrow at that inn near the edge of town? What's it called again?"  
  
"the Dancing Roach," said Val smoothly.   
  
Klonnoa nodded and dragged Xellos back to the Dancing Roach.   
  
When they got there, Xellos looked around and said, "Well. we should wait here until..."  
  
"Until what?" Klonnoa asked.  
  
Xellos opened one eye, bent so that he was eye to eye with Klonnoa, wagged his finger in her face and said, "Sore wa himitsu desu!" Klonnoa face faulted.  
  
"Xellos no baka..." she muttered darkly, picking herself off of the floor and rubbing her jaw sorely. "Just what are we waiting for, anyways? Never mind..."   
  
Klonnoa-chan soon got her answer as from a dark corner emerged a young woman that might not have been there a minute ago. She was very angular and pale, but first and foremost she was...neat. Not a hair on her head was out of place, there was not one wrinkle on her peach-colored dress, nor a single spot on her crisp white lace cuffs and collars. Even stranger than her appearance were her mannerisms. Sure, she moved around like a person should and yet...there was something too perfect, too precise. The young woman, named Galetea, advanced towards Klonnoa and Xellos with an eerie "klunk...klunk."  
  
"Miss Klonnoa?" her voice was soft and seemed to come from far away. She smiled in an attempt to be friendly, but her eyes stared blankly.  
"My master has bid me to come fetch you."   
  
Klonnoa stared at the figure, her eye twitching at the 'miss' statement. "Your...master...oh, him..." she sighed. "Okay. Take us to your leader," she said in a sarcastic tone.  
  
Xellos's smile widened then faded. Hopefully Klonnoa would follow the plan and not screw it up. "Hiya! So, how is he? Life treating him nicely?" he asked cheerfully, only to get a kick in the shins by Klonnoa. "Ow!...Do it again." he smirked at Klonnoa's annoyed expression.  
  
"Xellos no baka..." she muttered, bopping Xellos over the head with her mallet-sama and dragging the sadistic Mazoku so that him and herself were standing beside Galetea. "We're ready. Beam us up, Scotty."   


* * *

Val stared nervously at the large wooden door. Sol, who was standing next to him was also staring in equal apprehension. It was an ordinary enough inn. It had the ordinary smells of smoking chimneys, hot food, and sweaty people. It had an ordinary sign, swinging above the street, "THE HALF MOON INN." It had a little more than the ordinary amount of customers. Val could see why, it was this or "The Dancing Cockroach." However concealed within this benign, friendly and downright ORDINARY setting...was a most EXTRAORDINARY person...  
  
Val nudged his companion.  
  
"Dude, YOU knock!"   
  
Sol looked at him funny, and then dawned in realization.  
  
"Huh?...Oh...yah."  
  
Val had met Aunt Luna on Several occasions, and while she was very friendly (in an odd sort of way) she was definitely....imposing. Encounters with her usually started out with a gigantic bear-hug that would knock the wind out of a warlord.   
  
Sol was just about to lift the large brass knocker when the door was flung open...and there she was...Aunt Luna. She was wiping soapy hands on her apron, her hair was short and sensible, but hiding her eyes from sight (there was a rumor that she didn't have any). The two boys tried to look at her respectively, without falling backwards as she towered over them. Her face broke into a wide grin (what they could see of it) and she cried out heartily,  
  
"BOYS! Great to see you! You've both gotten so BIG! C'MERE!"  
  
Before either could object she had wrapped a muscular arm around each boy and drew them in a crushing embrace to her ample bosom. Val tried to fight back tears as he saw a white light glowing in front of him...beckoning.   
  
All Sol could do was cough.  
  
"chlad cho chee chou choo," he managed to get out.   
After what seemed like ages of excruciating agony, Aunt Luna finally released the boys from her crushing iron grip.   
  
"Why don't you come on in, and we'll catch up!"  
  
Luna looked confusedly at the boys, who were now lying on the doorstep, panting. She shrugged and scooped up both of them in her arms, and carried them inside.   
  
One Chocolate cake later, the boys were recovered and quite at ease. Aunt Luna made the best chocolate cake. The boys were discussing their travel plans, when they heard loud thumping on the stairs, as if something dangerous and hostile were descending them. They were right. It was Sol's teenage cousin.   
  
Mina was clad in bright orange, the latest color fad, from the colored streaks in her hair, to her large oversized boots that cost their weight in gold. Her hair was twisted up in a trunc's knot. The schematics of this hairstyle is too detailed to relate to right now, but suffice to say, that its' only purpose...was to annoy parents.  
  
"Mina! come say hello to your cousins!" called Aunt Luna.  
  
Mina's head swiveled in disinterest towards Luna. She uttered some strange teenage dialect that sounded rather like "p'shhhhuhhhh." Val and Sol couldn't help but think she was cool.  
  
"Moth-errrr...Val is not my cousin...he's just Sol's little friend." she stated, rolling her eyes as if her mom had called Val something completely ridiculous...like a hat.  
  
Luna shrugged. "Fine. Say hello to your cousin _and his friend!_"  
  
"Gee, I'd love to, but I really got to go do some stuff.".... It was anyone's guess whether she was being sarcastic or not.  
  
"What kind of **_stuff_**?" asked Luna with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Y'know! **_STUFF_**!" replied Mina, under the impression that she was being perfectly clear.  
  
Luna sighed passively.  
  
"Whatever. Just be back by six, we're all having dinner together."  
  
"I will if I can and I won't if I don't." replied Mina with exasperation.  
  
She finally glanced at the two boys, and gave a halfhearted wink.  
  
"Seeya Squirt," she said and exited after ruffling Sol's hair and blowing a kiss to Val, who turned beet-red. That was the last Sol would see of Mina, this visit.  
  
Luna looked back disapprovingly and shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry about that, guys. She's going through a phase."  
  
The boys tried their hardest to not laugh. They had spent their entire lives going through "phases."  
  
From there the conversation resumed. The boys soon discovered that Aunt Luna was the coolest kind of adult. Not only did she congratulate Val on his medal for Academic Achievement, but she also listened intently to Sol's account of his suspension for introducing his amazing skill for making armpit farts at the school concert. She even asked for a demonstration, much to Val's mortification.  
  
The best thing about Luna though, was that she **knew** stuff...._stuff about Lina_. The boys laughed long into the afternoon as did the patrons of the inn. She had lured a big crowd around her table as she related to Lina's exploits from their childhood. Sol had tears streaming down his face, and Val's sides were aching, when Luna stood up with her hands on her hips.  
  
"Well, 6:00 dinner time!"  
  
"AWWWWW" said everyone, until they all remembered that next to stories, Luna was famous for HER FOOD! Waitresses came out with soup tureens, dishes and pots full of hot, steaming, rich food and began to ladle out portions to everyone. When the waitress passed over Val and Sol, they looked heartbroken, but Luna just laughed and nudged them.  
  
"We're eating in my family's dining room!" she said warmly and guided them behind the main staircase and into a friendly room with dark green walls and oak wood trim. In this homiest of rooms, was a large meal on a huge table...more than even Sol and Val could **ever **eat! The table was in fact sagging under its great bounty, and was making creaking sounds. From a second door, emerged a tall smiling man with a bit of grey in his short brown hair.  
  
"Uncle Howard!" cried Sol happily as he leaped into the man's arms for a big hug...but not nearly as fatal as Aunt Luna's. Val bowed politely until Howard drew him into a very "manly" hug. Val liked Howard. He seemed to be the most sensible person in the family. But then Howard opened the door again and called up the stairs.  
  
"LANI! DINNERTIME!"  
  
Sol's pupils contracted.   
  
From the hallway outside he heard the soft thump of tiny feet on the stairs and the "jingle....jingle...jingle" of a large bell. Sol's got a cold chill up his back as that bell came _closer_...and **_closer_**..."jingle....jingle....."  
  
Suddenly, and without warning, the "jingle-jingles" got faster and faster until the door burst open and a streak of blue and purple shot towards Sol knocking him to the floor.  
  
There sitting on his chest was his five-year-old cousin, Lani. Her lavender hair was cut short in a wedge, and was held back with a gigantic pink ribbon. Around her neck was a matching pink ribbon with a large jingly bell on it "to hear where she is," Aunt Luna once said. She was wearing a flouncy blue dress with several petticoats, and around her waist was a sash with a large red bauble at the end. The bauble was now in Sol's mouth, and it was a good thing too, for if he had had the liberty Sol would've been uttering many things that a five-year-old shouldn't hear.  
  
"HI-YEEE!" she chirped happily as she hugged Sol with a strength rivaling that of Luna's, and snuggled against his chin.  
  
Sol wanted to die.  
  
Hearing Val laughing, he decided he'd prefer it if Val died.   
  
There was only thing Sol found more annoying than Lani's irascible cuteness: the fact that everyone **knew** how cute she was. Every old friend knew it, every new acquaintance knew it, and worst of all, **she** knew it. Also, everyone who had accepted her adorable nature as a universal truth was generally disagreeable to anyone who thought contrary.  
  
Sol thought veeeeeeery contrary. This little spore was as lovable to him as an inside-out chinchilla. You can see where it _might_ have been cute, but it's the inner nature that really gets in the way of beauty.  
  
The town seemed so sure of her cuteness, though, that Sol wouldn't be surprised if they woke each other up in all hours of the night, crawling through each others yards and leering in each others' bedroom windows making sure that no one forgot how cute Lani truly was.  
  
"Why, God, Why has she not been hit by a truck, making everyone's life easier?" Sol asked to any who might heed his prayer.  
  
"Well, for starters," answered Val, "trucks haven't been invented yet."  
  
"Then what are you standing around for? Invent one! For the love of all things holy, hurry!"   


Val, having little to no imagination, grabbed a napkin, wadded it into ball, and chucked it at him.   
  
"Here you go, buddy...a truck."  
  
Lani smiled widely down at her cousin, bouncing on his chest.  
  
"Did you finally come to visit me?" She leaned down, putting Sol's neck into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in a _w'ong w'ong_ time!"  
  
Her amethyst eyes then shifted up to Val. They somehow grew larger in size and sparkled like stars. She dropped Sol, climbing off him, and slowly inching toward Val.  
  
"Hi Val...." she said softly, blushing.   
  
Val sweat dropped.  
  
"Uh...hi." he said quickly...he too was starting to remember why Aunt Luna's house scared him as he inched towards the wall.   
  
"C'mon, Kiddo," said as Uncle Howard scooped Lani up into her booster chair...next to Sol's seat.  
  
"Better YOU than ME," was all Val had to say on the matter, as he tucked his napkin into his shirt.   
  
"Hey Val," Sol whispered. "Why is it that every girl seems to fall for you?"   
  
Val sighed tragically.  
"Its the burden of a bishonen." he replied softly.   
  
"_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight._" said Sol as he drowned his food in Gravy.  
  
After a hefty dinner, both Val and Sol were...satisfied. Lani had considerably dampened their appetite. Not wanting to spend another minute near Lani, they feigned extreme fatigue and were led upstairs to the guest room.  
  
"Geez, that Lani is such a PAIN!" whined Sol as he bounced on the soft bed.  
  
"As I recall, you were a lot like that when YOU were five." commented Val, sagely.  
  
"Nuh-UHH!" cried Sol totally shocked and affronted.  
  
"Yes, you were. I shall now do an impersonation."   
  
Val's eyes widened into big shimmering saucers and he chirped in a high-pitched voice (that cracked a little;)  
**_  
"OH, Val you're so cool!! I wanna be just like you!! You're my bestest Pal! Lets be together FOREVER and EVER and EVER and EVER and EVER and EVER and EVER and...Hey! Where are you going??"  
_**  
He then returned to his cool and casual self, but with a small smug grin on his face.  
  
"You Lie!" cried Sol hotly, blushing.. _why did that sound so familiar_? The frank look on Val's face also convinced him that he was prob'ly telling the truth.  
  
"May the world be forever rid of five-year-olds." muttered Sol bitterly.  
  
Val was about to point out that there would be no future generations if every five-year-old disappeared, but decided it was unnecessary.   
  
"Whatever," is all he said. He started to put on his pajamas.   
  


* * *

  
Later, in the night Val awoke to a burning pain. His arms felt like they were on fire. He tried to hold in his screams, as tears rolled down his cheeks, but it was just too intense for him, and soon he was crying freely.  
  
"SOL!" he sobbed. "ITS HAPPENING AGAIN!"   
  
Sol jerked up in bed, and it was a few seconds before the blurry world subsided into substance. Than the weight of his friend's condition finally feel upon him.  
  
"Holy-" he cried, followed by a word worthy of three boxes of Safeguard.  
  
He was by Val's side in a blink, but he might as well as been a million miles away. Val was writhing in pain, and Sol didn't remember the first thing about his condition! Why-oh-WHY didn't he pay more attention to his mom!??   
  
"Okay, Val, you just hang in there, oKAY?? I'm going to get help!!!"  
  
Sol thundered into the hallway, yelling at the top of his lungs.  
  
"AUNT LUNA!! AUNT LUNAAAAAAAA!!"   
  
"NO! No! NO!" cried Val helplessly. He didn't want to wake everyone up, not when he was like this! He would have given anything to keep Aunt Luna from finding out...because she would tell his Mom.  
  
Of course it was too late, and Aunt Luna came bursting through their door, sword drawn. Of course anyone confronted with a sword in their bed would be naturally frightened, so there was a good four minutes of screaming from all parties, that woke the rest of the family and half of the borders as well. Thus they all ran upstairs to see what the commotion was. There they were, standing in the doorway, trying to get a glimpse of the action. Poor Val was a sobbing wreck.  
  
Aunt Luna finally managed to shove them all back to their rooms, although she had to wave her sword around a bit. She could then tend to Val.  
  
Unwrapping the bandages from his palms to his elbows, she held back a gasp. Encompassing his forearms were hundreds of scars, old and new, and somehow just reopened.   
  
"Dear Lord." she whispered.  
  
"Wait!" said Sol. "I REMEMBER WHAT TO DO NOW!!!"   
  
Sol had regained his composure and managed to instruct Aunt Luna how to care for Val, with the confirmation of Val nodding or shaking his head when questioned.  
  
Luna tried to be as comforting as possible, as she spread some of Filia's salve on his scars and wrapped his wounds in fresh warm bandages. She then stayed with Val, until he dropped off to sleep, with Sol snoring next to him.   
  
As she started to leave, she heard Val calling her softly.  
  
"Aunt Luna?"  
  
"Hmmm...."  
  
"Could you not tell my mom about this?"  
  
"I dunno...I really think I should." said Luna sadly.  
  
"...um...," began Val timidly.  
  
"Yes?"

"Could you tell her...AFTER I leave tomorrow?"  
  
"Sure thing." She smiled and gave him a wink under her long bangs.

* * *

NEXT TIME, ON SLAYERS ENCORE!

Sol: _"Who's the freaky kid with the puppets, and why is Klonnoa wearing pink? Is Xellos behind this? And where'd did Midnight Thorn disappear to? Maybe this familiar face knows!   
Find out in our next Chapter:_   
  
**NEMESIS!** (A Boy and His Toys)  
  
YOU BETTER WATCH OR MY MOM'LL REALLY CAUSE SOME TROUBLE!!"

* * *

**GIGAWORKS is**

**Jia Re Meng**
Editor from Hell, Illustrator, "Voice" of Val, Sol, Luna, Filia, Lani, and our John Cleese knockoff

**Paper Tiger**
Tech Monkey, "Voice" of Sol

**Moonhawk**
Ascending Goddess, "Voice" of Midnight Thorn and Filia

**Cait Sith**
Video Game Guru, "Voice" of Xellos and Klonnoa

**A-chan**
Designated Castaway, "Voice" of Lani

**Mistress Saturn**
Your Friend and Mine, "Voice" of Galetea, the Klunking Woman


	3. NEMISIS! A Boy and His Toys

  
_In a Dark dark place, there was a dark dark room.  
In the dark dark room, there was a dark dark throne.  
On the dark dark throne, was a dark dark monster.  
And the dark dark monster was...  
  
...a little boy._  
  
At least, that was the form he preferred to keep. He had some early ideas about being a dashing young man with russet hair and flashing eyes, or a sinister twisted old man, mysterious and brooding. Perhaps a pale slender woman, beautiful and frightening? No... how boring.   
  
Speaking of boredom, the little boy was fidgeting around in his seat, and kicking his legs with a frustrated pout on his cherubic face. He tossed back his blonde head in frustration, his blue eyes, impatient.  
  
"Why hasn't she come yet!!!???" he cried out and was answered only by echoes. His mouth then screwed into a pathetic grimace, as he stared at his shoes.  
  
"Its because she doesn't WANT me to have friends! She doesn't care! I can be lonely forever, and nobody will care!"  
  
Knee-deep in self pity, his crystal-blue eyes shed a few bitter tears of overreaction. His ears then heard a familiar "Clunk... clunk," from the corridor. The boy's gloom suddenly fell from him as he sat up cheerfully.   
  
"Is that her!?" he cried ecstatically, grinning from ear to ear.   
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
**Team Gigaworks Presents: Slayers ENCORE (Son of Lina Inverse)   
Chapter 3**  
**NEMESIS! (a boy and his toys)  
**Slayers and all related characters and elements are copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi and are used without permission, Klonnoa is copyright of NAMCO. Okay, some of these characters are_ technically_ not violating copyright law but the attorneys will have a big messy hissy fit in our faces. But I **DON'T CARE**!! THEY'RE **OURS**!! WHATCHA GONNA DO?? **_CRY ABOUT IT_**!??!  
[Also my apologies to everyone concerned for my horrid little bit of poetry at the beginning. (sigh) Gomenasai -_-;;]  
  
  


* * *

  
Klonnoa walked ahead of Xellos and 'the freaky wooden chick', as she had come to call her (not aloud, of course). After a moment, she asked, Are we there YET?"  
  
Xellos sighed. This had to be, at LEAST, the millionth time she'd asked that.   
  
"I think so..." he answered, getting a little nervous about this meeting. Xellos happened to know what the little runt could do when angry, and the one thing he DIDN'T want was a Mazoku kid throwing a temper tantrum. _That_ would end with getting punished by the Master. He walked up to Klonnoa and whispered in her ear, "TRY to at LEAST follow the plan somewhat, okay?"  
  
Klonnoa rolled her eyes, "Sure, sure. Whatevah ya say, Xellos. Hey... is that him?" she pointed at the blond boy. Xellos nodded.   
  
"Yep." He gave the boy a sweeping bow and said, "Morning!" Klonnoa nodded her head.   
  
"Nice ta meetcha. I'm Klonnoa." She was mentally growling, _I HATE this place... too dark..._ she shuddered, looking around nervously. She didn't like the dark because it reminded her of her old master. She suddenly felt very scared, but wasn't about to give Xellos the pleasure of soaking it up like a sponge. So, she asked boldly, grinning, "So... what do ya wanna do first, Master?"   
  
The small blonde boy smiled pleasantly at Kloa-chan... which made him a little scarier.  
  
"I like you." he said sincerely, his blue eyes sparkling.   
"I can tell we're going to be the best of friends... I can tell these things about people, right Galatea?"  
  
Galatea nodded, perhaps with more enthusiasm than was needed.  
  
The boy then turned on Xellos, with a sour scowl on his face.  
  
"I **DON'T** like **YOU**! **NO BOWING**!!" he shouted, flushed with anger. His perfect cherry lips were pouting, and his brows furrowed charmingly... however, what would have looked adorable on a normal boy made this boy perfectly terrifying.  
  
Xellos flinched at the boy's harsh tone. "Sorry..." he grumbled, standing and pouting slightly.  
  
"I **HATE** grown-ups... they're always bowing and groveling and saying 'my lord'.... and they never want to have fun with me."  
  
The boy glared at Xellos, who suddenly doubled over. Whatever he was doing to Xellos, it certainly wasn't comfortable, as the blue eyes stared fixedly on his victim. Xellos's eyes opened wide as he clenched his teeth, clutching his stomach as body-splitting pain shot through his body.  
  
Klonnoa glanced over at Xellos, feeling like she should help, but she was unable to move, for her legs felt as though they were made of jelly.  
  
The boy then released his prey and yawned, letting Xellos drop to his hands and knees.   
  
"But I suppose you _MUST_ stay. said the Boy in a bored drawl. You can keep Galatea company if you like," he remarked dryly.  
  
Xellos stood after a moment and said, wincing, "I'll... do that..." He then cast Klonnoa a worried look and walked off, leaving Klonnoa to stare after him with a panicked expression on her face.  
  
"Just don't get in our way!" the boy called menacingly after Xellos. He then grabbed Klonnoa's hand and smiled sweetly at her.   
  
"What's your name again? Mine is Puppito!" he cried with all the seeming innocence of a six-year-old boy.  
  
His perfect pearly teeth, dimpled rosy cheeks, and long fair lashes made his deep blue eyes seem weird and out of place. Klonnoa smiled. The kid was cute, she had to admit, but still a little... scary.   
  
"I'm Klonnoa," she said, pondering what she would do to Xellos if she didn't survive this encounter. She mentally sighed. _Xellos... you OWE me... BIG time..._ she thought, smiling at the Mazoku's cheerfulness.   
  
"So, she heard herself say, whatcha wanna do first, Puppito?"  
  


* * *

  
  
Galatea and Xellos went to a smaller room on the left side of the throne room. Xellos following behind her at a bit of a distance. Whether it was her wooden movement, her tinny voice or her permanent smile, she was really freaking him out!   
  
Galatea's room was quite charming. It was small and Xellos had a difficult time maneuvering between the furniture, but it was cheerful, with bright yellow wall paper, and a friendly fire crackling in a little iron stove. Her bed was made up like a small sofa, and Xellos was offered a seat as Galatea clunked to the stove. Everything was newly dusted, ironed and starched and the hardwood floors shone with a new coat of wax. It was almost a little**_ too_** tidy. Either Galatea didn't entertain except for special occasions, or she wasn't human enough to make a mess.  
  
**_*squeak*_** Galatea slowly turned her head 180 degrees to look directly at Xellos. She said most cheerfully, "Would you like some tea?"   
  
Xellos blanched. This inhuman gesture bothered him more than he would have thought possible. There was also something very uncanny in her expression, even if it was _exactly the same_ as it had always been. Xellos wondered if there was more to her than a mere puppet.  
  
"Sure." Xellos replied nervously. He shuddered at the sight, trying not to stare.  
  
"Oh!... this will be most delightful." she said as she quickly adjusted her head another 180 degrees completing the 360. She mechanically retrieved a darling rose-spray tea set from the stove top and set it mathematically on a tray with two cups and saucers, a cream jug, a sugar bowl and tongs, with equal precision.  
  
Xellos cautiously sat up in his seat. "This is... uh... quite a quaint little room you have here"  
  
"Thanks. The master has the rest... he deserves it. It is only right that he has the rest... one lump or two?" Galatea said more cheerful than necessary and the permanent smile still on the face.  
  
"None... it's bad for my system" he said.  
  
Galatea then arched backwards with the tray perfectly balanced on her stomach.  
  
Here you are, she said with the same painted smile.  
  
Xellos grabbed the cup of tea little faster than etiquette would have permitted.  
  
"Thanks," he muttered, a little distractedly.  
  
Galatea then moved under the table grabbed her tea and arched back up and took a sip.  
  
"mmmm, she said artificially. She sat daintily on a flowery ottoman and took another sip. Xellos could hear the tea running down her throat and splash into a cavernous artificial stomach, like water down a drain.  
  
Xellos recovered his dignity and asked casually, "So... would you mind telling me what your master has planned?"  
  


* * *

  
  
The Voluntary Town Guards of Glistle (VTGG) bit their nails and tapped their boots nervously as they surrounded the inn. The Dancing Cockroach was normally such a joyous spot for the blue-collar workers, at least, it normally it was. Inside, though, was the most notorious bandit in the country.  
  
All of them were nervous. Except for one.  
  
The captain was hidden beneath his cloak and hood. The weathered green mantle cast what little could be seen of his face in ominous shadow. And the shadows seemed more fearsome than the threat inside the inn.  
  
"Keep three guards at the front," said the captain, "two at the rear entrance, and a third by the kitchen door. The rest, follow me."  
  
He proceeded through the barroom, where every large man and hung-over woman put down their darts and dropped their chips. The cloaked captain had already reached the stairs to the rooms and practically flew up them. His long stride stopped only at the end of the hall, before room 12.  
  
"Remember," he said to the guards, motioning them to draw their swords, "Do not let appearances deceive you. She's not called the **Midnight Thorn** for nothing."   
  
A young Lieutenant looked up, confused, at the Capt.  
  
"Uh sir... that makes no sense... I mean... her appearance has nothing to do with Midnight Thorn! Now, I guess, if her name was _the Chameleon_ that would make sense, and you could warn us that her appearances could be deceiving'... because she hides like a Chameleon', and you could say They don't call her the Chameleon for nothing...' and that would be clever... but her name isn't the chameleon, it-"  
  
"Lieutenant?"  
  
"Yes sir?  
  
Shut up.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
"Aww... do really gotta meet those weirdoes?" moaned Val.  
  
The boys were running an errand for Aunt Luna and they would leave town later that afternoon.  
  
"We told them that we'd meet them at The Dancing Cockroach' in the morning, and that's what we're going to do," said Sol honorably.  
  
"I thought we'd only said that so they'd go away."   
  
"Why would we want that?" asked Sol innocently.  
  
"Well Duuuuhhhhhhhh!" quipped Val. "They'll just be fifth wheels!"  
  
"You mean-uh..... fifth... sixth... and seventh wheels right?"said Sol using his fingers.  
  
"You're going to make me regret teaching you how count by the end of this, aren't you."  
  
"Val, what's a fifth wheel?"  
  
Just at that moment, they happened to be passing outside the "Dancing Cockroach" where they saw hundreds of troopers positioned outside, stationed behind their coaches, crossbows cocked and at the ready. All around the inn a large crowd was forming. Val and Sol tried to get a better look by climbing under legs, but when they managed to get close, a large official-looking guy stopped them.   
  
"Sorry boys, but this area is restricted. I'm gonna have to ask you exit the perimeters."  
  
"What's going on?" asked Sol.  
  
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to reveal that we have cornered a dangerous criminal and are now attempting to capture her. Now go away."  
  
".............  
  
........Riiiiiiight."   
  
  
"A dangerous criminal, huh?" said Sol, thinking out loud.  
"Well I hope Midnight Thorn is okay."  
  
"Hm" said Val as they walked to the Dry-goods Store.  
  
  
_They've surrounded the inn,_ she thought, glancing out of her room's window at the soldiers below with narrowed eyes. _It looks like Midnight Thorn will have to fight her way out..._  
  
Midnight Thorn grabbed her few belongings and sword, then paused to glance outside the window again. Her heart sank into her stomach. She might be good, but there were so many of them. How would she get out? It seemed impossible.  
  
A light bulb flashed. Maybe if she used a disguise... Rummaging in her pack, she found a large, but torn cloak, a blue-haired wig, _how did that get there?,_ a very dirty pink dress that almost looked brownand a basket of apples _nani? O_o..._  
  
She quickly put on the wig, dress and cloak, and looked in the mirror to check that she did not look like herself. Most of her face and her eye patch were hidden under the cloak. _All right!! All set! Let's go!_  
  
Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, gently closing the door behind her. The soldiers outside stared suspiciously at her.  
  
"W-would you like to buy an apple, sir? My apples are very good! I sold quite a few to the nice lady in the room," she said, pointing towards the room she just exited.  
  


* * *

  
  
[Editor PT: Meng, what's with the blue lines?]  
{Editor Meng: She's in **_disguise_**, silly!}  
[Editor PT: Ah.]  
  


* * *

  
  
  
"Is that 'lady' still inside the room?" asked the soldier quickly.  
  
Midnight Thorn pretended to think carefully before she nodded her head. "I think so, sir. She seemed to enjoy my apples very much. Um... with your permission, good sirs, could I leave now? I still have quite a few apples to sell, and if I don't finish selling them, my mom and dad will scold me."   
  
The guards all nodded in approval, glad to see a young girl making a living for herself. And not an easy one at that. They turned their attention back to the door.  
  
But the captain wasn't at ease yet. He stroked his cleanly shaven chin a moment, watching the girl move towards the stairs.  
  
The cloaked captain drew his sword from the scabbard as easily as blinking and twice as fast. Jaws hit the floor as the Captain took a fencing lunge straight at the girl's head....   
  
And were astonished by the blue wig, gently pulled of with the sword tip. Standing an inch away from the razor-sharp steel was the Midnight Thorn, pink hair and all.  
  
The captain tossed the wig away and brought his weapon close to him, ready for anything.  
  
"So what will it be, Bandit?"   
  


* * *

  
  
Thieves? Local Guard? Potentially high danger? Only one thing for a pair of young boys to do:  
Go check it out!  
  
"The question," Sol muttered to himself, "is **_how_**."  
  
He sized up the two guards standing by while digging through his mental arsenal of spells. The perfect one came to mind.  
  
"Stand back, Val, I'm not going to hold back on these two."  
  
_This_ oughtta be good. Val sniffed.  
  
Sol approached the armed guard innocently and sweetly... before snapping his eyes shut and clutching his gloved together tight. His brow furrowed and his forearms began to shake. The guards looked on intensely.  
  
Sol felt the words trickle into his mind one by one, and he voiced them out loud to magnify the spell.  
  
"_Stellarum, Lunarum, Sollum.._." He took a breath and added, with zeal and volume, "_LUX!!_!"  
  
{Editor Meng: What?}  
[Editor PT: Lighting Spell.]  
  
Sol flung his arms apart and hovering before his face was an orb of light the size of a tennis ball. Not all that impressive, but the guards were taken by surprise by the sudden brightness. They rubbed their eyes, and Sol pushed his way towards the inn.   
  
Val followed Sol through the open gap in authority, shrugging. He felt that he ought to have said something, but his snappy retorts were running low today.   
  
"Dang." he muttered, angrily.  
  
They managed to make it to the front door of the inn with no difficulty. However, they were still debating how to get inside, and STAY there, unnoticed.  
  
"plan eleven, whispered Val unobtrusively.  
  
"Aw no! Not plan _eleven_!!!!" whined Sol  
  
"Plan eleven or **eat scum and die**!" Val retorted and smiled to himself ...that was a good one ^_^  
  
"But I can't hold still for that long!!!"  
  
"So take breaks when they aren't looking!!"  
  
"**HOW CAN I TELL IF THEY'RE NOT LOOKING WHEN MY FACE IS COVERED!!??**"  
  
"**_Do_ it**."  
  
"grrrr......errrrgh..._ i hate plan eleven," Sol_ muttered and kicked air.  
  
Slipping in the front door, the boys plundered the cloak rack and found two large cloaks of sufficient gaudy patterns. Then each boy draped a cloth over himself, squatted, and put his arms out.  
  
The result was two small, lumpy-looking armchair-disguises that allowed them to shuffle around the room unnoticed.   
  
"It hurts!!!" said the smaller armchair, that was wobbling slightly.  
  
"Armchairs don't talk, stupid." said the larger one and bopped the smaller one with his "arm rest."   
  
"Bandit?!! Where?!! Help! I'm afraid of bandits!!" Midnight Thorn exclaimed hysterically, hoping to carry off her disguise a while longer, even though her wig was already off and everyone could see her eye-patch clearly.  
  
Look men! yelled the Captain. Her lines are PINK!!!  
  
Seeing that the soldiers were unconvinced despite her excellent acting, Midnight Thorn cursed her distinctive speech and swept off her long cloak, once again in her tattered garb. She then drew her sword and prepared to attack the Captain of the guards.  
  
"You've made a big mistake by not killing me immediately," she said, her eyes glinting. "However, I won't make the same mistake. Prepare to meet your end, foul villain!"  
  
Puzzled, the soldiers glanced around to see where the 'foul villain' was, while a vein bulged in the Captain's forehead. "She's trying to distract us!" he roared. "Don't listen to her!"  
  
_Distraction? Say, that's a good idea,_ thought Midnight Thorn. "**Look! A walking sofa!!**" she shouted, pointing randomly.   
  
The captain laughed derisively.  
"Ha! You don't fall for that **three** times in your life. GET HER!!"  
  
"You won't take me without a fight" cried Midnight Thorn as she jumped nimbly out of the way of the soldiers, while raining blows on their heads. "Even if you, captain-- Wha--?"  
  
It seemed that the female bandit had just gotten a good look at the captain of the guards.   
  
"DADDY?!!!!"  
  
........  
  
........  
  
Stunned by her exclamation, the soldiers exchanged glances, totally bewildered.  
  
The Captain stood rooted to the ground for a moment in sheer panic and bewilderment. Those are the words a man NEVER wants to hear from a strange teenager.  
  
Sheathing her sword momentarily, Midnight Thorn jumped up to the captain and threw her arms around him.  
  
"Daddy? What are you doing here?!!"  
  
"Daddy?.... What daddy?... Daddy who?... Daddy what?... What?" The Captain was shaken to say the least.  
  
"Oh! Sorry. I was mistaken. You look a lot like my daddy, that's all."  
  
With that, she dropped him like a ton of bricks and starting prancing down the stairs, three at a time.  
  
The captain's face darkened suddenly as he felt every shred of anger rise to his face (which was now a lovely shade of purple).   
  
  
  
There was only a wooden guardrail separating the upper floor from the ground floor lobby. The Captain jumped it, landing roughly on the hardwood twenty feet below. In a few steps, he would be at the front door, cutting off Midnight's retreat. Her odds looked grim.  
  
...or they would have, if the Captain had ever reached the door. Instead he tripped over a tiny armchair. Or did it _trip_ him?  
  
Either way, the Captain made a sickening sound on the stone doorstep.  
  
Val threw off his disguise and pointed to an open window.  
  
"Hey, Thorn! Get Outta here!" he cried   
  
Thorn took his advice and sprang for the window, like a cat, over the unconscious captain of the guards. She paused at the window to blow Val a kiss.  
  
Thanks, kid. Ja Ne!  
  
And with that she was gone. The remainder of the Guards either followed her out of the window or out the door accidentally trampling their beloved captain.  
  
Val heaved a sigh of relief as he was quite exhausted by the whole affair, and he had gotten a weird tingly feeling when Thorn looked at him. He didn't like it. He slumped into a nearby chair and ran a hand through his hair, irritably.  
  
"Hey, Val.... can I move now?" said the chair he was sitting on.  
  
Val suddenly realized another dilemma.  
  
"Hey Sol... how do we get outta here quick, without anyone suspecting us?"  
  
"Hmmm.....That'll be kinda hard since you blew our cover." said Sol, thinking hard. He also trembled under the weight.  
  
Val's brow furrowed, as he absentmindedly kicked the Captain's head as it lay motionless on the floor.  
  
The hood fell of the swirly-eyed captain's head. He was in his early forties, had graying temples, and short, black curly hair. His face was scarred, but still handsome and wolfish. His tan was also the envy of the town, no doubt.   
  
For a real change it was Sol who said, "How 'bout plan 13?"   
  
Val brightened up.  
  
"Sol, if I weren't so cool, I'd kiss you." That was the highest praise he could give. And he meant it too. "So get cracking."  
  
um, can you get off me first?  
  
  
  
With the throw-over off his head, Sol looked as if he were concentrating very hard; a rare event. He did this for several minutes and then gasped in despair.  
  
'No good. Won't come."  
  
"Try staring at something without blinking. " Suggested Val.  
  
"..............Uh-uh." Sol shook his head.  
  
"Hmm well... Hey Sol, come here for a sec."  
  
"Okay, what is-OW!!!!!"   
  
Val, taking advantage of his friends trusting nature, had poked two fingers in his lei's buddy's eyes. Sol, the dignified nine-year-old that he was, started bawling shamelessly. Tears descended in a deluge, as Val steered his small companion through the door past a forest of adults.  
  
"Excuse me... sorry... pardon me.... crying kid, coming through."  
  
Sol, in the meantime had managed to get into the act and (as dictated in plan 13) wailed,  
  
"MOMMY!!! WAHHHH! I WANT MY MO-O-O-O-OMM-Y-Y-Y-Y!!"  
  
Sure it was degrading, and humiliating, and aggravating to have adults pet him on the head. BUT they got free candy from seven different people, and managed to get out undetected, and back to Aunt Luna's.  
  
They only realized what they overlooked when Aunt Luna asked for the milk they had been sent to fetch. They looked at each other and grinned a little sheepishly.  
  
"Oops," said Sol as he sucked on his Lollipop.   
  


* * *

  
  
Sol sucked on the sucker till it dwindled down to a twisted piece of cardboard. Only after he tied it into a soggy pretzel did something strike him as peculiar.  
  
"Hey Val... Didn't that captain guy look kind of familiar?"  
  
Val cocked his head slightly.  
  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile:  
  
Captain Zangulas of the Glistle City Guard rubbed his pounding head and valiantly crawled to the window Midnight Thorn had vanished through. He gave up after three and a half steps.  
  
"I'll get you, Mid-"  
  
He collapsed and trickled to his knees again, his roguish chin landing on the hardwood floor. He was out cold, yet again.  
  


* * *

  
  
Klonnoa was standing on a wooden plank, tied up... but worse, in a frilly pink dress and a blonde wig. Even the mob of angry pirates advancing on her with malice in their eyes, and stubble on their chins, were not nearly as horrible as that rose-colored monstrosity with satin ruffles and puffed sleeves. The sharks swimming underneath her were a tie.  
  
"Don't worry, Miss Daphne! I'll save you!" came a high-pitched voice from above her.  
  
On the top beam of the mainsail, with a dagger in his teeth was a pint-sized blonde buccaneer.  
  
"_Say your line!!_" whispered Puppito coaxingly!  
  
"....."  
  
"You're supposed to say, _'Oh Rolland! Help Help! Rescue me._' "  
  
The pirates seemed to be waiting for Kloa-chan as well and lowered their swords and relaxed their scowling faces.   
  
Klonnoa clenched her teeth and thought,   
_I will not kill him, I will not kill him... I **will **kill XELLOS!!  
_  
Then she said in her best, 'help, I'm in danger!' voice, "'Oh Rolland! Help Help! Rescue me!"  
  
She then started to ponder what kind of horrible things she could do to Xellos if she lived through this. _Maybe I'll sing, "Life Is Wonderful" or maybe even launch into a Justice speech!! _she mentally grinned as she imagined Xellos under her foot as she sung songs about love and justice to him.   
  
The Pirates, evidently satisfied with her performance, started advancing on her again, resuming their dramatic growls and "**arrr**'s."  
  
"Rolland" took the Dagger from his teeth, and sunk the blade into the mainsail, he then jumped off the beam letting the dragging dagger, trailing in the canvas, slow his fall. He landed on the deck elegantly, and proceeded to fight back all of the pirates, quite impressively.   
  
He fought like a _hero_! No _deaths_ for him, he merely disarmed his enemies and 'taught them a lesson!' He turned his head to Kloa-chan to show off a dazzling smile and then back to business. After an entertaining battle, Puppito (I'm sorry, _"Rolland"_) was the victor over the swarthy sea-dogs.   
  
He leaped up to Kloa-chan and cut loose her bonds.  
  
"Yay!" shouted Puppito. "I win I win!!"  
  
He beamed up at Kloa-chan happily. Suddenly, the pirate ship, the blue waves, their costumes, everything disappeared. They were left as they started, in their old clothes. The pirates strewn about turned back into the giant wooden marionettes, that they were.  
  
"Let's play another one! This time you'll be a princess trapped in a tower guarded by 50 men and a fire-breathing dragon, and an evil sorcerer!! I'll be the White Knight!!"  
  
Before Kloa-chan could object, a new scenery sprung up around them, and a large Dragon swooped down and carried her away. Klonnoa let out a very loud scream as the dragon grabbed her. She pounded on the dragon's claw, but her small hands had little effect other then annoying the scale-covered reptile.  
  
"Wow, she's a good actress." thought Puppito... unaware that she wasn't acting.  
  
_I'm gonna **kill** Xellos when I get out of this_... Kloa-chan thought bitterly, and continued her screaming as the dragon dug its claws into her.   
  
"**MEANIE! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!**" she screamed, banging on the dragon's claw again. It spat a fireball at her, covering her in soot.  
  
"Namagomi dragon..." she muttered, coughing a small cloud of smoke.   
  
"Don't worry, fair Phyllis!! I come anon!!" Puppito cried valiantly, now sporting a tiny suit of armor. He whistled to summon a white steed ten times his size which he mounted and followed the sound of screaming.   
  


* * *

  
  


* * *

  
  
NEXT TIME:  
What's my dopy cousin doing following us around?? Doesn't she know there's goblins, and bandits and hungry blonde swordsmen in the woods?? Who's gonna protect her, cause I'm sure-as-heck not gonna! Maybe Old Man Zangulas will! **_(I'M NOT OLD!!)_**  
Be sure to catch,  
**  
Slayers Encore: Chapter 4  
BAGGAGE!!**   
(thank NO ONE for little girls!)  
  
You better watch or my mom'll really cause some trouble!!  



End file.
